Jesus heals a paralytic at the Pool of Bethzatha (Bethesda). (Maria Valtorta)
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Jesus is in Jerusalem, in fact quite near the Antonia. All the apostles are with Him, with the exception of the Iscariot. Many people are hurrying towards the Temple. They are all wearing their best clothes, both the apostles and the pilgrims, and I think therefore that it is Pentecost time. Among the people are many beggars, pitifully lamenting over their miseries and directing their steps towards the best places for seeking alms, near the gates of the Temple, or at the crossroads from which people come towards the Temple. Jesus, while passing, gives alms to the poor wretches, who give meticulously every detail of their misery.
I am under the impression that Jesus has already been to the Temple, for I can hear the apostles talking of Gamaliel, who pretended not to see them, although Stephen, one of his pupils, had pointed out Jesus to him.
I can also hear Bartholomew asking his companions: « What did that scribe mean by saying: "A herd of rams for the slaughterhouse"? »
« He might have been talking of some business of his own » replies Thomas.
« No. He was pointing at us. I saw him clearly. In any case his next sentence confirmed the earlier remark. He said sarcastically: "Before long also the Lamb will be ready to be shorn and slaughtered". »
« Yes, I heard him, too » confirms Andrew.
« Of course! I am yearning to go back and ask the scribe's companion what he knows about Judas of Simon » says Peter.
« He knows nothing! This time Judas is not here because he is really ill. We know that for certain. Perhaps he really suffered too much during the trip we made. We are hardier. He always lived here, in comfort, and he tires easily » replies James of Alphaeus.
« Yes, we know. But that scribe said: "The chameleon is missing from the group". Does the chameleon not change color any time it wants to? » asks Peter.
« Yes, Simon. But they were certainly referring to his clothes, which are always new. He is proud of them. He is young and we must bear with him… » remarks the Zealot to reconcile them.
« That is true, too. But!… What a queer expression! » concludes Peter.
« They are eternally threatening » says James of Zebedee.
« The trouble is that we know we are threatened and yet possibly imagine threats also where there are none… » points out Judas Thaddeus.
« And we see faults where they do not exist » ends Thomas.
« Of course! Suspicion is unpleasant… I wonder how Judas is today? In the meantime he is enjoying that paradise and those angels… I would not mind being ill myself, to enjoy those delights! » says Peter, to which Bartholomew adds: « Let us hope that he recovers soon. We must finish our trip, for the warm weather is at our heels. »
« Oh! He is well looked after, in any case… the Master will see to it, if necessary » assures Andrew.
« He had a very high temperature when we left him. I don't know how he got it, so… » says James of Zebedee. Matthew replies to him: « Sure everybody gets it! Troubles just come. But it is nothing serious. The Master is not worried about it. If He had envisaged anything grave, He would not have left Johanna's castle. »
Jesus in fact is not at all anxious. He is speaking to Marjiam and John, walking ahead of the others and giving alms. He is obviously showing and explaining many things to the boy because I see Him pointing here and there. He is going towards the end of the Temple walls, towards the north-east comer. There are many people making for a place where there is a number of porches in the vicinity of a gate, which I hear being called « the Sheep Gate ».
« This is the Probatica, the Bethzatha pond. Now look at the water carefully. See how still it is? In a short while you will see that it stirs, swells, reaching up to that damp mark. Can you see it? It is the angel of the Lord who descends, the water perceives him and venerates him as best it can. He brings to the water the order to cure the man who is ready to jump into it. See the crowd? But the minds of many wander easily and thus they do not see the first motion of the water; or the stronger ones uncharitably push aside the weaker ones. One must never divert one's attention in the presence of the signs of God. We must ensure that our souls are always vigilant, because we never know when God may show Himself or send His Angel. And we must never be selfish, not even for health reasons. Very often these unhappy people lose the benefit of the Angel's visit, because they waste time quarrelling over whose turn it is or who is in greater need » Jesus patiently explains to Marjiam, who looks at Him with attentive gaze, keeping an eye at the same time on the water.
« Can one see the Angel? I would like to. »
« Levi, a shepherd, when he was about your age, saw him. You should look carefully as well, and be ready to praise him. »
The boy's mind is no longer diverted. He looks alternatively at the water and above it, he hears nothing else, and sees nothing else. Jesus in the meantime looks at the small group of invalids, blind people, cripples, paralytics, who are waiting. The apostles are also watching carefully. The sunshine causes play of light on the water and invades like a king the five porches encircling the pond.
« There, there! » trills Marjiam. « The water is rising, it is moving, it shines! How bright! The Angel! » and the boy kneels down.
In fact the water, in its motion in the pond, seems to be raised by a sudden huge wave swelling up to the edge of the pond, and it shines like a mirror in the sun. A dazzling flash for a moment.
A lame man is ready to dive into the water and he comes out, shortly afterwards, with his leg, previously contracted and marred by a large scar, completely cured. The others complain and quarrel with him, stating that after all he was not unable to work whereas they are. And they continue arguing.
Jesus turns round and sees a paralytic lying in his little bed and weeping. He approaches him, bends over and caresses him asking: « Why are you weeping? »
« Master, nobody ever thinks of me. I stay here all the time, everybody is cured, except me. I have been lying on my back for thirty-eight years, I spent all I had, my relatives are dead, I am now a burden to a distant relation who carries me here in the morning and takes me back in the evening… But what a burden I am to him! Oh! I wish to die! »
« Do not grieve. You have had so much patience and faith. God will hear you. »
« I hope so… but one has fits of depression. You are good. But the others… Those who are cured, in order to thank God, could remain here to assist their poor brothers… »
« They should do that, in fact… Have no ill-feeling. They do not think of it. They are not malevolent. It is the joy of being cured that makes them selfish. Forgive them… »
« You are kind. You would not do that. When the water moves, I try to drag myself over there with my hands. But there is always someone who precedes me, and I cannot stay near the edge, because they would trample on me. And even if I stayed there, who would lower me into the water? If I had seen You before, I would have asked You… »
« Do you really want to be cured? Then, stand up! Take your bed and walk! » Jesus has stood up to give the order, and while rising He seems to have raised also the paralytic, who stands up on his feet, takes one, two, three steps, almost incredulously, behind Jesus Who is going away, and when he realises that he is really walking, he utters a cry that makes everybody turn round.
« But who are You? In the name of God, tell me! Are You perhaps the Angel of the Lord? »
« I am more than an angel. My name is Piety. Go in peace. »
People gather round them. They want to see, to speak, to be cured. But the guards of the Temple, who I think were also watching the pond, arrive, and they disperse the noisy gathering, threatening punishment.
The paralytic picks up his litter: two bars fitted with two pairs of small wheels and a piece of torn cloth nailed on them, and he happily goes away shouting to Jesus: « I will find You. I will not forget Your name or Your face. »
Jesus, mingling with the crowd, goes away in the opposite direction, towards the walls. But He has not yet gone through the last porch when He is caught up by an excited group of Jews, of the worst castes, who seem to be blown by a furious wind, and are all urged by the same desire to insult Jesus. They look, they search, they scan people's faces. But they are not successful in finding out who it really is, and Jesus goes away, while they, disappointed as they are, following the information of the guards, rush at the poor but happy man who has just been cured and they reproach him saying: « Why are you taking this bed away? It is the Sabbath. You are not allowed. »
The man looks at them and says: « I know nothing. I know that He Who cured me said to me: "Take your bed and walk". That's all I know. »
« He must certainly be a demon because he ordered you to violate the Sabbath. What was he like? Who was he? A Judaean? A Galilean? A Proselyte? »
« I don't know. He was here. He saw me weeping and He approached me. He spoke to me and He cured me. He went away holding a boy by the hand. I think it was His son, because He is old enough to have a son of that age. »
« A boy? Well it is not He!… What did He say His name is? Did you not ask Him? Don't tell lies! »
« He told me that His name is Piety. »
« You are a fool! That's not a name! »
The man shrugs his shoulders and goes away.
The others say: « It was certainly He. Hania and Zaccheus, the scribes, saw Him. »
« But He has no children! »
« And yet it is He. He was with His disciples. »
« Judas was not there. He is the one we know well. The others… might be anybody. »
« No. It was them. »
And they continue arguing while the porches become crowded once again with sick people…
Jesus enters the Temple again on another side, the western side, which faces the town. The apostles follow Him. Jesus looks around and at last sees him whom He is looking for: Jonathan, who, in turn, was looking for Jesus.
« He is better, Master. His temperature is going down. Your Mother says that She hopes to come by next Sabbath. »
« Thank you, Jonathan. You were punctual. »
« Not very, as Maximinus of Lazarus kept me. He is looking for You. He has gone to Solomon's porch. »
« I will go and meet him. Peace be with you, and take My peace to My Mother and the women disciples, and also to Judas. »
And Jesus walks fast towards Solomon's porch, where in fact He finds Maximinus.
« Lazarus heard that You are here. He wishes to see You to tell You something important. Will You come? »
« Of course, I will. And soon. You can tell him to wait for Me during the week. »
Maximinus also goes away after a few more words.
« Let us go and pray again, since we came back so far » says Jesus and He directs His steps towards the hall of the Hebrews.
But when He is near it, He meets the cured paralytic, who has gone to thank the Lord. The happy man sees Jesus among the crowd, greets Him joyfully and tells Him what happened at the pond after He left. And he concludes: « Then a man, who was surprised to see me here and completely cured, told me who You are. You are the Messiah. Are You not? »
« I am. But also if you had been cured by the water or by any other power, you would still have the same duty towards God. That is, to make use of your health for good work. You are cured. Go, therefore, and resume your activity in life with good intentions. And do not sin any more, so that God may not have to punish you more severely. Goodbye. Go in peace. »
« I am old… I know nothing… But I would like to follow You and serve You. Do You want me? »
« I reject no one. Think about it before coming. And if you make up your mind, come. »
« Where? I do not know where You are going… »
« I move about the world. You will find My disciples everywhere and they will send you to Me. May the Lord enlighten you for the best… »
Jesus now goes to His place and prays…
I do not know whether the cured man has gone spontaneously to the Judaeans or the latter, being on the look out, have stopped him to find out whether the man, who was speaking to him, was the one who had cured him. I know that the man speaks to the Judaeans and then goes away, while they come towards the steps that Jesus must come down, to go through the other yards and go out of the Temple. When Jesus arrives they say to Him abruptly, without greeting Him: « So You continue to violate the Sabbath, notwithstanding You have been reprimanded so many times? And You expect to be respected as a messenger of God? »
« Messenger? Much more: as Son. Because God is My Father. If you do not wish to respect Me, you may refrain from doing so. But I will not cease accomplishing My mission because of that. God does not cease operating for one moment. Even now My Father is operating, and I operate as well, because a good son does what his father does, and because I have come into the world to operate. »
People have approached them to listen to the debate. Among them, there are some who know Jesus, some who have been helped by Him, some who see Him for the first time. Some love Him, some hate Him, many are uncertain. The apostles form a group with the Master. Marjiam is almost frightened and looks as if he is going to weep.
The Judaeans, a mixture of scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, shout at the top of their voices that they are scandalised: « How dare You! Oh! He says He is the Son of God! What sacrilege! God is He Who is, and has no children! Call Gamaliel! Send for Sadoc! Gather the rabbis that they may hear and confute Him. »
« Do not become excited. Call them, and they will tell you, if it is true they know, that God is One and Trine: Father, Son and Holy Spirit and that the Word, that is the Son of Thought, has come, as prophesied, to save Israel and the world from Sin. I am the Word. I am the foretold Messiah. There is no sacrilege, therefore, if I say that the Father is My Father. You are upset because I work miracles and through them I attract crowds and convince them. You accuse Me of being a demon, because I work prodigies. But Beelzebub has been in the world for many centuries, and he truly does not lack devout worshippers… Why, then, does he not do what I do? »
The people whisper: « It is true! Very true! Nobody does what He does. »
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